Pepe joined us a a few years back now for a hefty transfer fee and his level of performance and consistency so far have not really justified the huge sum we paid for him…That said and despite being frustrating and predictable, he somehow manages to snatch a few assists and goals (1 goal, 3 assists in 8 games so far) here and there and also, he has vastly improved his defensive contribution. Now, is he being unfairly judged because of the price we paid for him? Is his improvement since he joined us good enough? Can he be more decisive? On the latter part, I think we should push him even higher up the pitch so that he has no choice but to make quick, instinctive decisions…
Odegaard, I am still unsure on why we bought him. He is a good passer of the ball, a decent presser as well but his defensive awareness is not great at all and seems he can only be trusted as a Nr.10. He does not seem to have the tactical awareness or physical attributes to play as a Nr.8. Arteta likes him and I can see why but I would much rather see ESR as a Nr. 10 and Lokonga, AMN or even Xhaka as an 8.
Martinelli, our Brazilian speedster who got slowed down in his progress because of injuries. He is always trying to make things happen on the pitch but he can be a bit clumsy at times and his lack of playing time seems to affect him and his ability to score or assist. Make no mistake, the kid is very good but he needs more playing time and for that, he needs to be better when called upon…It is a catch 22 situation..
So how do you feel about Pepe, Odegaard, Martinelli (POM)? In our 4231 set-up, are they good enough to challenge the Saka, ESR, Auba (SEA) trio? Can the POM take over the SEA?
Food for thought…
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The three players mentioned above have been unimpressive so far this season. Odegaard has to work on his physique. He is too lightweight for the physical aspect of EPL.
Pepe has been inconsistent this season, no wonder he has found himself on the bench. Watching the game against Leeds, I could not really remember any occasion where Pepe was able to beat his man. Martinelli needs more game time to recover his consistency and he must be able to justify his place when called upon by his performance, which I am yet to see this season.
I agree with Kay, above.
Thanks for the Post, RC, and it addresses a somewhat disappointing part of our recruitment.
I am hoping that somehow Pepe will still deliver a 10 goals – 10 assists season but will depend on how deep we go into Cup competitions…In the EPL, if he could have 5 and 5, it won’t be great but if plays 20 games and it decisive every other game, it would not be too abysmal
Odegaard vs ESR
Martin is a great player and we bought him for a reasonable price. The only drawback is that his profile is soooo identikal to Smith-Rowe’s. Same weaknesses, same style of play. Odegaard is a better passer, has more experience/minutes under his belt and he is dangerous with direct free kicks. On the other hand Emile is as ambidextrous as it gets, familiar with British football (style) and is a bit more muscular. They are also similar in that they best perform in attacking midfield, and while they can also play on the wings that’s not optimal. Apparently Arteta doesn’t know (or mind) that, and prefers to field them both when available, but that’s not too effective. ESR should be our #4 choice LW, and Odegaard is only the #3 RW. Unfortunately neither of them are good in central midfield yet, so it is not smart to have them play together, even though they both are fabulous footballers. At the moment – putting form aside – I would prefer Martin as the starting AM, as he is capable of those insane long balls and through balls that were characteristic to Ozil’s and Bergkamp’s style, but Emile worth more than to be his understudy. However without sufficient games – outside European competition – this is a huge dilemma, where Mikel has to sacrifice either the development of the 2 players or the team’s effectiveness.
If Pepe, Odegaard and Martinelli are all on the team sheet, then I’m up to watch an exciting game.
All 3 players have an open invite to play on my futsal team any time.
Time to celebrate the Birthday of the best first touch player I have been privileged to watch at the HOF in my 60 years. Stand up and take your bow again…..Robbie Pires. (Cant be any dissenters….again, surely!!😁)
I like Odegaard and I think he’s going to develop with us this season and be an important player as the season progresses, but if he doesn’t then given his age it’s a safe investment that we can recoup if need be.
Martinelli is the same age as Balogun and has a lot of growing to do still so I’m not too concerned at this time about him.
Pepe is a worry, it was a huge investment and it’s not looking too promising for him, mind you his confidence looks shot. The fee is always going to be an issue but that’s the nature of the beast all the same I’m not too sure that it’s on his mind when he’s tricked his way past an opponent in a game and then stumbled over the ball.
All three will have a part to play this season as we need all of our players and on any given day they can deliver.
LBG – Robbie Pires, what a player he was for us! After a tough first year, he was an automatic starter and if he had not gotten injured in 2002, he would have been in contention for the Ballon d’Or for sure…He was just unplayable that season
On my side, I would start ESR over Odegaard as a 10 any day because ESR is much more dynamic, direct and also incisive in front of goal. He can be a very good 10 / 9.5 – our new DB10? Because Odegaard is not yet good enought o play as a 8, I would not start him with ESR….
As for Martinelli, I think he needs to play more. Arteta needs to give him more minutes for sure.
Regarding Pepe, if I were Arteta, I d try him up further up the pitch a bit like when Auba plays on the left wing.
Anyways, the POM trio for me is below the SEA level 😛
Pepe further up front are u kidding me , time to give up on pepe am afraid there sir
Pepe further up front are u kidding me , time to give up on pepe am afraid there sir
Especially how one footed he is would not be good striker at all
Tuesday I said pepe didn’t mean to assist chambers watching it back over seems he actually did
So seems am a bit harsh on pepe it just 3 years and he seems to be getting worse
Every time u think he would kick on after having a good end of season he just reverse back to his old self
Fred, you’re a hard man, Nicholas down the inside left seems to work but is rarely used…
yea am a bit hard, i want to do so well it infuriates me when he doesn’t
Fred
Perhaps we could offer Pepe, with X as a bogoff!!
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